Transfer window: Mourinho’s damning Dele Alli prediction proved right
Dele Alli has brought an end to his seven-year stint at Tottenham Hotspur after signing for Everton on a permanent deal to wrap up Deadline Day.
The Tottenham star becomes Frank Lampard’s second signing after Donny van de Beek was announced earlier on Monday, as the Toffees construct a new look Everton midfield.
When Alli arrived at White Hart Lane in 2015 from MK Dons, he was destined for greatness, but after a fantastic start to life at Spurs his form dropped off after Mauricio Pochettino was sacked, and he’s struggled ever since.
However, Alli was warned by former boss Jose Mourinho, who gave the midfielder a damning assessment during Tottenham’s ‘All or Nothing’ documentary, and the Portuguese boss has been proved right.
Alli signed for Tottenham for just £5million back in 2015, and it looked like one of the bargains of the decade as the youngster quickly became one of the most promising talents across the whole of Europe.
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The midfielder was a huge part of Pochettino’s Tottenham side that made the Champions League final, and was also integral as Spurs settled for a second-placed Premier League finish, but Alli also starred internationally as he impressed for England at the 2018 World Cup.
But it all started to go wrong for Alli after Pochettino left, and early into Mourinho’s tenure, the Portuguese boss made a bold prediction during an honest chat with the England international.
Mourinho said back in 2020: “Since the beginning I’ve had no doubts about your potential. I saw you do incredible matches and incredible things, but I always felt that you had ups and downs.
“There is a huge difference between a player that keeps consistency and a player that has moments, and that is the difference between a top, top player and a player with top potential.
“It’s something that you don’t have to share with me, something that you just have to analyse yourself to realise why my career is being… MK Dons, top, national team, bang! And then you reach the top and then…”
Mourinho was honest with Alli and said that his lifestyle could affect his consistency, and that ultimately it could lead to future regrets as he warned the midfielder about wasting his talent.
The former Tottenham boss went on to say: “Why you have in your career these little ups and downs, I don’t know if it had to do with your lifestyle.
“If in one period you are an amazing professional, in another period you become a party boy, going out, I don’t know, I have no idea, only you can know that.